Callina Sienna

"I should do this," Seraphina argued, glaring at Elora and I as we stood outside the house - not a castle, as one might expect, but a mansion - of King Phum. The tall building was enough to make any Angel nervous, so different was it to the low huts of our homeland.

Elora shook her head. "I'm the best combat fighter. I have the best chances of his approval."

They were arguing, again, about who was best suited to take over the mission. With Amoris gone, killed by demons in a brawl before I could heal her, the three of us had fallen into disarray; hopefully, information from King Phum, one of Aimsir's most respected scholars and the ruler of the city of Khet Al, would lead us to where we could find a cure for the Tree.

I let the two bicker for a while before sighing. "I'll do it," announced I, holding up a hand to quiet the others' protests. "You two are Powers. No offense, but you're not known for your diplomatic skills."

"Seraphim are only healers," Seraphina pointed out. "A Cherubim would be best at this."

"Yes, but we don't really have a choice, do we?" I snapped. "Either one of you goes and messes it up, or I go and maybe fail. Which will help us save the World Tree?"

Elora raised her eyebrows at the uncharacteristic display of aggression from me.

"Fine. Callina goes in first. If she doesn't make it, I will."

"Yeah? And why can't I try after Callie fails?" Seraphina challenged.

"Be quiet!" I ordered, enjoying how the two fell silent immediately. "If I fail, neither of you two are going to succeed."

The other two positioned themselves on a bench outside the king's spacious home. It was agreed that they would wait outside and, if anything were to happen, summon their wings and fly in a window I would get open. I promised them that nothing would.

As I stepped up to the gate, my way was blocked by two guardsmen in blue and gold uniforms. "And where are you going, young lady?" the woman of the pair asked, raising dark eyebrows at me and my travel attire. Two days on horseback hadn't done anything for my dress.

"I wish to request an audience with the High King Phum," I declared, raising my chin high and staring them straight in the eye.

Apparently it wasn't intimidating enough, as the man - boy, really, judging by him pimply face and barely-there Adam's apple - laughed. "An' wot does a girl like you want wiv the king?"

"I wish to request his help with a task that has been set to me by the Archangels."

The phrase didn't strike as much fear into the humans' hearts as I thought it would. Instead of groveling, as most humans were prone to if they even spotted one of the Archangels on Mir, they laughed.

"An' I s'pose you're an angel, then, eh?" the boy giggled. "Where's yer proof, little lady?"

I sighed and lifted my hand to display the small symbol on my right hand. "That proof enough?"

"Not quite," the woman said, arching her brow again. "You could have drawn that. Let's see those wings of yours then, angel."

I gave her a withering look. "Only the Powers have wings. I am a Seraphim. A healer."

"Oi? Can you heal 'er ugliness then?" the boy chortled, jerking a thumb at his partner. She glared at him.

I ignored the statement, focusing on a thin cut on the side of his thumb.

"Did you injure yourself?"

"Ah, this? Nah, the mates an' I were just practicing. Don't even hurt, rea- by the Archangel!"

As he spoke, I had taken his hand and, with one pass over the injured spot, it disappeared.

I smiled. "I'm hardly one of 'them Archangels, eh?'" I mimicked. "Just bring me to the king."

"O- o' course, my lady. Righ' this way."

I sent a smile at Elora and Seraphina across the street, who gave me grudging looks of respect as I was led inside the tall bronze gate.

The inside of the house was even more opulent than the outside had been, full of gold leaf and malachite vases on marble tables. I had to force myself not to stare as we passed what must have been priceless works of art and a library that rivaled the one in Layqa. Finally, I was positioned outside what must have been the King's study, or possibly his kitchen. Either way, it would be grand.

"Wait here," the woman ordered. "I will go speak to King Phum about meeting you."

I nodded and barely glanced at the boy, although he sent many gaping-mouthed glances my way. At the very least, I had given him an interesting story to tell everyone about the time he was healed by an angel.

The woman exited, lifting her head. "His Majesty King Phum will see you. It is customary for people to keep their heads down while addressing him. Do not attempt to open the drapes, either. He like it dark."

I had a moment's thought about how I was going to get the window open for Elora and Seraphina, but it was banished as I stepped into the dark room.

The only light came from two weak candles on the king's desk - all the rest of it was blocked by the heavy drapes over the windows. I kept my head down as instructed, though I was sorely tempted to glance up to see if I could find a different route to the king's desk. The darkness made it hard to walk.

I froze when I got to the middle of the room, as a voice spoke.

"They tell me you're an angel."

It sounded old, incredibly old, and barely loud enough for me to hear. I took another step forwards and nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness. My name is Callina Sienna, from the Order of the Seraphim, led by the Archangel Raphael."

"Hmm," he groaned. "Yes, I know Raphael."

"You do?" I took an eager step forwards again. "If you do, is there any way you can help me?"

"Of course, child. Tell me what you wish."

"I need to find a cure for the world tree."

The candles flickered a but at his sudden intake of breath. "Ah, the Tree? I should have known the Angels would do this."

"Hmm?"

"Want to save the tree, of course," the king said smoothly, though it almost seemed too perfect. "And so I suppose you think I know the cure?"

"You are well known for your library, and your scholarly achievements," I said sweetly. "You certainly must have at least a clue."

"That I do. More than a clue, really."

I grinned, though there was no way King Phum could have seen it in the dim light. "You know of the cure?"

One of the candles flickered, and I realized that he just have lifted it. The small light began to move around his desk. "Indeed. It is a closely guarded secret, but if you cannot trust an angel, then who can you trust?"

"Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you very much."

The small light illuminated a fireplace, which King Phum doused in kerosene. "While I light the fire, will you bring me the black tome from my desk?"

I approached the desk and lifted the heavy black book, almost staggering under its deceiving weight.

The king was still trying to light the fire, bringing the candle near the logs every so often in an attempt to light it. He paused when I brought him the book, flicking through the old pages and muttering to himself.

"Not there, that wouldn't help... The Frasd pass is too dangerous... Maybe if you sailed the Aredian Channel... Aha!"

He pointed one gnarled hand at a map - specifically, an insert of a beautifully drawn flower. "There. That's where you need to go to find the cure."

"Ostral..." I read aloud in a murmur. "That's demon territory. Far into demon territory."

"Yes, but only there will you find the cure."

I nodded and smiled again. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Not so fast."I paused, half-standing.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Well, I can't just let you go now that you know the cure, can I?"

"Uh, yes. You can. That's why you told me it. So I could go save the world?"

The laugh was filled with malice and mirth, even as the King's shaky hand started to try and light the fire again.

"Oh, my dear girl. I don't want to save the world."The fire lit with a hiss and a gasp from me.

"I want to destroy it," hissed the vampire in front of me.

I let out a scream that was surely heard outside, but nothing happened. The sneer on the vampires face seemed even more gruesome due to the decaying flesh of his face. The rest of his body was also peeling and rotting, foul. I took a step backwards until I bumped into a desk.

"Yo- you're the king," I stammered, not able to coax anything else out of my frozen brain.

"Yes, king of the nest around here. The humans are too scared of us to regain control of their city - well, it used to be their city."

"But you are King Phum! Yo- you..."

"King Phum the First, in fact. Ah, yes. Well, I go by the Second. I can't exactly be waltzing about informing cities that I rose from the dead, eh? So instead they think I'm an eccentric old man with a long life."

I started to walk backwards, towards the black drapes illuminated by the fire. "Then why help me? You know I'm the enemy. You know my friends are outside. You could have just kicked me out, denied entrance."

"Ah, but where's the fun in that? I like seeing people's faces when I bite them."

King Phum licked his lips greedily, with a tongue every bit as rotting as the rest of him. I backed up a step further and felt he heavy fabric in my hand.

"Isn't it going to be a bit hard to see my face, though? Maybe you need a little light!"

I yanked the thick fabric open, exposing the light of day to the room. King Phum hissed and cowered away from it, while I unlocked the windows and stood poised on the windowsill. Motioning to Elora and Seraphina, I couldn't help but grin.

"Thanks for the the cure, by the way."Then I let myself be caught by the powerful wings of the other two and left the mad king behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elora Reed

DID NOT HAND IN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seraphina Ayres

Here we are: an angel, a fae, two demons, and a werekind, and somehow we're already lost. You'd think we'd have some kind of smarts, but apparently I can only speak for myself.

"Come on, we were just in Srok Khmer, how can we be lost? I mean, it's not that hard to follow a path," I say, rolling my eyes.

Eira gives me a look. "I'm sorry, would you like to lead the way?"

"Well, who said you were qualified to do it?" I retort.

"Hey, now is not the time to turn on each other. So we're a little lost; we'll figure it out and be on our way in no time," Margaret says. At least she knows what she's doing.

Eira and I take a step back, and I'm walking by Margaret now.

"Thanks for that. It's just hard to work together. How are you so calm anyways? You're the only one really holding us together right now," I tell her. Honestly, that girl has some serious patience.

Margaret just focuses straight ahead and says, "I have to be."

With that, I decide to leave it alone. Our group makes a turn and standing in the road is my favorite species: a demon. Like, why can't we be left alone for just a few minutes? I actually have things to do.

"Hello, tributes. I've come for Cestil and Marlow." She smiles a wicked grin, one I've seen on Eira before.

"And why should we let you? You have no business here," I state. Who does this demon think she is?

"I'm Kali, their leader. So watch it, angel." She spits out the last word like it's dirt in her mouth.Cestil and Marlow, who have been oddly attached at the hip since we joined forces, give us a look, but before they can move, I decide to do possibly the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life: confront a demon.

"No."

Kali looks shocked....and angry. "What did you say to me?"

"I said 'no'. They're with us, and I don't care who you are. We don't need you getting in our way, so either kill us or leave." I'm on a roll today.

She snickers. "You think I don't have a problem killing the five of you? That would make my day."

"I think you could, but why would you? Cestil and Marlow are your own kind, and even though you have others, they're probably not as good as these two. So if you want to lose your best chances at getting to the World Tree, be my guest," I say.

Kali takes a second to weigh her options. "Fine, but don't think this is over. If they don't come back with the World Tree, their lives are already over. Watch out, angel. You're on my list now." She give us one last menacing glare and then starts to leave.

Cestil looks at me. "We could have held our own, you know."I smile.

"I know, but that was AWESOME. I just kicked her butt....and without weapons! I've hit a new level of sass today." I toss my hair over my shoulder to emphasize this.

Margaret chuckles, and soon we're off again. Look out, Aimsir. We're coming at ya.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lysander Ailouroeidis

"Stay back!" I hiss.

Gwenfor ignores my orders to stay back, and instead pursues the monster in front of us. A demon. A demon with serpent eyes, and blood red skin that creeps the hell out of me.

"I told you to stay back!" I growl.She completely ignores my words once more, and sinks her teeth into the demon, causing him to howl in agony. Blood gushes out of the wound, and I realize she hit an artery. She's going to kill it!

"Leave it! We don't have to kill it!" I order.

She only sinks her teeth into the demon even deeper, and I pounce on her back, trying to get her to release the demon from her mouth

"Listen to your boyfriend." the demon grumbles.

This causes Gwenfor to sink her claws into the demon, making him release a screech that could be heard from miles away. I bite Gwenfor hard, and we both fall on our backs. Finally she releases the demon from her claws and teeth, and the demon wanders off somewhere into the distance.

We return to our human forms, and I can see the fury written all over her face.

"How dare you! How dare you! I can't-I can't even begin to explain how big of an ass you are!" she expresses great anger towards me.

I stare at her, not knowing what to say, and just sit there, looking at her like the idiot I am. She kicks dirt into my face, and walks off, all fired up.

"Gwenfor, I'm sorry, just we didn't have to kill that guy." I apologize.

She continues walking away from me, and I tug at her arm, trying to get her to stop.

"Gwen, I'm sorry-"

"Call me that ever again, and I swear I'll kill you." she threatens me.

Geez, this girl is hard to deal with! Somebody kill me!

"He's right you know." a voice says from a direction that I can't pinpoint.

We look around, but nothing's in sight. Somebody tell me I'm not going insane because I've spent so much time with this fabulous lady right over there!...For a lady, she sure doesn't act like one.

"Who's there?" I mumble.

A couple moments go by, and there's no response. Maybe I am going crazy. Suddenly, a woman appears from behind the trees, and I don't recognize her to be anyone that I would know.

"The midsummer queen." Gwenfor says under her breath.If only I knew who that was.

"What's a midsummer queen?" I accidentally say out loud.Gwenfor's palm meets her face, and she seems really disappointed over the mere fact that I don't know what that is.

"So much stupid! I pray to god your stupidity isn't contagious." she sighs.

"I am indeed the midsummer queen..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rowan Sylvan

DID NOT HAND IN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret Cleo

"This is ridiculous. Your little map must not be accurate." 

 "What do you want... for me to agree with you? I don't understand it as much as you don't." I definitely let my temper get the best of me. 

 "What was that, sniveling little were-child?" I had no idea how such a lovely looking thing could change her voice to sound so terrifying, or to act so disturbing. Her hand grasped my throat and held me up in the air with her fae strength. 

 Should I seem sniveling? Maybe they would be more likely to let me go with them, survive, if I were weak. 

 But perhaps they would admire my strength. 

 Eira's little nails were drawing blood and bruising my neck. She looked at me strangely as I didn't react, lost in my thoughts. 

 It reminded me of when I had asked about their trip together. 

 ~~~~~~~

 "Sooo... how do a demon and faery find themselves working together?" 

 Cestil and Eira looked uncomfortably at one another. 

 For being so big and bad, sometimes they were comical together. Old friends, or enemies barely holding it together. 

 "Well, you know... world domination is the only thing I could come up with!" I forced a laugh, but Eira narrowed her eyes at me. 

 "She's just trying to make conversation. The young are bored so easily, Eira." Cestil punched me lightly in the arm, and I struggled not to let my hackles rise. 

 "When is the next full moon again, Cestil?" She said meanly. I stared at her as she gave me a feral grin, flickering between forms. Eira could have her fun at my expense, and it wouldn't matter. 

 This was for Collin. 

 "You should be asking when our next meal is going to be, you don't want to see a Golawere when they get hangry." I tried again. They ignored my bad joke. Although it was barely a joke. 

 "Let's get out the map again, it appears to keep changing." 

 "Yes, Srok Ofmer appears to be growing and switching color." Cestil added, looking at the map intensely. 

 "May I see? After all, the mapmakers did tell us that the maps would change depending on the location and proximity of us to the world tree." Eira sniffed at me. 

 I traced my finger over the odd texture the map had.

So similar to mine, except I hadn't had a chance to look at mine closely in private, I couldn't risk them finding out what I was actually looking for. 

 Even if I hadn't completely lied, they were both merciless. 

 "So where exactly are you supposed to go with this map?" Cestil and Eira glared. The map showed three glowing points, as if the world tree couldn't decide on a location. 

 It was shrouded in the mists of myths, so it made sense that even the best mapmakers weren't truly sure. 

 This meant that we needed to find out for sure. 

 ~~~~~~~ 

 "Eira, really?" Cestil yawned and lazily sidled up to us. She set me down, and I stared in her eyes as she gave a sinister smile. 

 "You're going to the world tree? Aren't you?" Now Cestil and Eira weren't smiling, which was stupid of me, but I had wanted a little revenge. 

 So petty. I wanted them to see me as a threat. 

 I wasn't, not to them. 

 Not unless I shifted. 

 I wondered if maybe Eira had asked as more than cruel curiousity. Golawere were infamous for their ferocity after the change, maybe she had been worried. 

 "The trouble is, we each need the tree for ourselves. So why shouldn't we just kill one another, and whoever is left gets to continue?" Eira leaned forward. 

 "Don't worry. I'm going in the same direction, however, quite frankly I just want to utilize the angels that are sure to be there. Angels are renowned for their healing abilities, and I need to heal my brother." Little white lies mixed in with the truth, isn't that the way they say to do it? Non threatening was definitely my best bet here. 

 "Interesting." Cestil wiped some of the blood off my neck and languorously placed his mottled blue finger in his mouth. 

 "Let's get to this citadel of nasty little humans, why don't we. Then we can have some fun. Leave a nice little trail of death in our wake." Eira clapped her now-little-girl-hands and walked more quickly. 

Fun. Right. 

 ~~~~~~~~ 

 Ten Hours Later.

 "Eira!" I might not like her, but us magicfolk, and girls have to stick together. I struggled against the silvery woven rope binding me. It left me breathless and bloody. 

 They had her in an iron birdcage, with iron prongs digging into her. 

 This seemed cruel, even for the magic hating humans. 

 Stupid, to hate what they can't control, they didn't try to make the weather stop, did they? 

 "No full moon coming anytime soon, beastie. You're stuck here until the king sees fit to see you." Which meant we had to bide our time. 

 The king of humans was worth less than the Old crazy Gola Crawford. 

 Female prisoners were kept separate from males, but Cestil could definitely handle himself. 

 If anyone had gotten out of prison before, I feel like it was probably him. 

 At least before we had been captured, Eira insisted on teasing and torturing a food vendor, who had been too distracted by the beautiful, treacherous blonde to see us stealing all of his wares. 

 So we had eaten well today, better than I had in weeks. 

 But my stomach still growled, and the king probably didn't care to see any prisoners. 

 So i was counting seconds. 

 1.... 

 2...

 3... 

 ....265..266..267... 

how many minutes were in that again? 

I was about to give up, when I realized I had time to waste, so why not? 

Less than four and a half minutes... It was going to be a long wait, I realized now. 

There was a clattering on the stairs as a brazier fell down. I jerked my body towards the sound, My shoulders angled back for my hands to be tied around the wrists, and my ankles tight enough together that they hadn't bothered making too many knots, just loops. 

There was silence. 

The dungeon was damp and disgusting smells emanated from places I didn't want to think about, but if someone was on the stairs, that meant I had to be wary. 

"Hello?" I called, hoping it had fallen because of bad placement, not the guards coming to do unimaginable things. 

"Shut up, little brat." Eira snarled at me, awake, through the bars. She barely looked uncomfortable, just bored. 

"How isn't the iron affecting you?" 

"I'm not young and weak. And my skin is a protective layer anyways. As soon as it's in my blood, then we need to be worried." She leaned her head back against the cage bars. 

It looked outdated, starting to rust, as if they hadn't caught anyone magic in a while. 

"We should have gone around the town."

"Nonsense. This is perfect, the leader won't be able to resist the allure of magicfolk, and he'll come to give us information or meet his untimely death.

-An amusing choice, if you ask me."

"Not for him."

"Don't tell me you're a human lover." the words held such disdain, such seething hatred.

"Of course not, that's disgusting." Sympathy had mostly been bred out of me by my father, but my mother had some human friends.

Not all of any species is bad. Maybe this king isn't.

"Yeah it is. Now shut it, our words are echoing." 

I snapped my jaw closed, pinching my tongue in the process.

I hissed in a breath, and tried not to act like the child I still was.

Some of these creatures were hundreds of years old, and I was expected to best them.

At least humans had an even worse shelf life than the rest of us.

~~~~~~

My arms had definitely lost feeling, and it was long after I had given up counting by the time we heard the door clang open.

Eira glanced my way, then settled down more comfortably in her cage.

The rope on my hands was beginning to itch, but each time I moved my muscles spasmed and my limbs stung with little needles.

Eira's eyes were mostly closed now, she looked asleep or unconscious, but was actually ready to be feisty.

I liked how cruel she could be in instances like this. 

Footsteps and scuffles echoed and bounced off the cool stone. With the light fading it was getting harder to see, but I knew that if I looked at the sconces on the walls, I would be blinded, and an easy target. 

Three guards entered, and two came forward to force me upright, while one prodded Eira with an iron pole. She snarled, but waited to act.

They had to think we were weak, so that they didn't know to be afraid.

"Wh-where are you keeping our friend?" I choked out a fake little whimper. Barely holding in my grin.

Situations like this wake up the animal in me, send my frightened thoughts away.

It's all about the hunt, the chase now.

"The little werewolf whines like a pup." A rich toned, superior voice rang out.

A squat, balding man, who maybe used to be handsome- for a human- walked down with four more attendants. He was actually wearing a crown.

I wanted to point out to him that only the most uneducated couldn't tell the difference between a Lupa and a Gola Were, but he was a simpleton, and I had other questions I needed him to be able to focus on.

But I could still refer to the human king as an imbecile, because he had labeled himself as that.

I changed my frown to a sweet little smile.

"Oh Your Majesty, or is it Your Highness? I am unfamiliar with these primitive terms you little backwards humans still use." Eira gave a saccharine smile. "What can you possibly want with us?"

The imbecile had blushed an ugly purple, and he frowned at us.

"Why would you bother my city, my people, if you don't care for our customs or... Unless you need something?" He looked back and forth between us. He seemed to think he had figured out our plan, and knew how to work us. He saw himself as so much better- he was about to have a rude awakening from Eira if she kept talking.

I understood that Eira hated humans, but that didn't mean she should be allowed to ruin our chances! 

"Your Majesty, she is just angry because of the draining effects of the iron cage you have placed her in! Honestly, though, what if we could sweeten the pot of having magic prisoners?" The king was mollified.

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"We are on our way to the World Tree of Legends, and we will take control of it. But what if we were to claim it in your stead? You could hold the fate of all nations in your hands? We would be your champions!" I had thought it had been a rousing speech, but apparently not, because the king shook his head.

"I know where the tree is already." Eira perked up at his words.

"Oh, well then please tell us..." She stared intently into his eyes, and he began speaking, unaware of her persuasive tactics. Imbecile.

"The world tree is underground, girl. With no less than three entrances to get to the cavern. The light shining through the water was a dead give away. I don't need champions, especially not dirty magic ruffians. No, your death will be much more satisfying, and good entertainment for my court." 

The man blinked and fixed his opulent robes. It wasn't that cold down here. 

"Until tomorrow, demons."

He was really stupid.... neither of us were demons, or even looked like demons.

I guess he was the overzealous, inaccurate type of Imbecile.

He swept out with his robe. His men scrambling like the little minions they were.

"And everyone wonders why I don't like humans." Eira scoffed, loud enough for the men to hear, but not one turned their head.

~~~~~~~~

Moonlight began climbing in the window, bars breaking it up.

It was a comfort and a boon.

I trapped the growls of change low in my throat, trying to make it a quick as possible, so that I could get us free.

I broke my bindings as if they were the consistency of spider webs. I leaped nimbly to the top of Eira's cage, and swiped the chain down in one go.

"Finally, you're useful! Hurry, the noise as the cage dropped will call attention."

I didn't need a full moon to change, and in fact it was better that it wasn't, because now I was more firmly in control.

The laces on my clothing were stretched to capacity as I glanced down to bend the sides of the cage enough for the latch to swing easily for my claws.

I stood, constantly amazed at my strength, speed, and accuracy in this body.

I was lethal.

The thought froze me, reminding me of the blood on my hands.

It was okay, It's for Collin.

Eira nodded at me and led the way up the stairs. 

A hallway branched off of a platform on the stairs.

"Get Cecil and meet me outside of the city, to the southwest."

"Where are you going?" I tried to growl, she cocked her head, almost understanding.

"I have some things to take care of." She skipped off, and I feared for any human that got in her way.

~~~~

Cestil had made friends with at least five of the men there, telling them bawdy stories and making bets about who would get out first, second, last, never.

He grinned and held his fist up in victory at the sight of me, and gave me the rundown on why he had won the bet.

Men in jail don't exactly have much to bet, so I just ignored him and broke the links of his chain.

"Anybody else want out with Were girl here?"

"That's a girl?" one of the men spat out in fear. I growled in his direction. How charming these humans were.

"I think we'll take our chances with the idiot King, lad. Nice knowing ya." Another trembled. I stalked away as Cestil laughed and followed me.

"They just don't know what a hardass I really am." He yawned.

He could definitely be merciless, of that I had no doubt. He also knew how to charm anyone close enough to listen, which was probably how he was so dangerous.

"Where's Eira?"

I nodded my head to the southwest, and Cestil nodded, following me at a trot to keep up.

The streets were empty, until we began hearing shouts of FIRE.

"THE CASTLE'S ON FIRE!" People screamed and woke up and ran out onto the streets.

Cestil and I ran until the distant clangs of alarm bells and the smell of smoke barely existed, and sat under the tree that sat immediately southwest of the city.

Eira met us in her child form half an hour later.

"Was that your doing, Eira?"Cestil laughed gleefully.

Eira smiled and tossed us our bags of maps and goods. I nodded and went behind some shrubs to change back.

I felt myself fade back with each beat of my pulse, the change easier than ever before- which meant it could become harder to stay in my form without much control now. I tightened the laces on my shirt, my pants, and my shoes as I walked back to sit with Eira and Cestil. Eira nodded, still standing, almost approving of my actions.

She plopped down and we began putting ourselves back together.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwenfor Sybil Meilyr

A demon with the eyes of a snake and skin the color of blood, one that gave Gwenfor nightmares and that was rare. Was in front of Gwenfor and Lysander, who were now in there animal forms. 

 "Stay back Gwenfor!" Lysander shouts. 

 Gwenfor blocks out Lysander's voice and purses towards the demon. Her body collides with it, she could hear Lysander's voice shouting behind her but it was muffled as if he was miles away. The demon landed on the ground laughing. 

 "Such a weak girl you are." The word weak causes Gwenfor to sink her teeth into the demon's neck, making blood the color of ink spill out of him. The demon screamed in torment. The taste of its rich black blood filled Gwenfor's mouth. 

 "Don't kill it!" Lysander pleaded. 

 "Yeah listen to your boyfriend!" The demon tried to laugh but instead they were gargles. 

 "He's not my boyfriend!" Gwenfor sinks her claws into his chest feeling the cracking of his ribs underneath her hands. 

 "I said 'Don't kill it'" Lysander bit into Gwenfor's shoulder causing her to let out a cry into the night. The demon got back onto his feet and made his way into the shadows of the word dying slowly. 

Gwenfor and Lysander turned back into their human forms; Lysander had blood in his mouth like Gwenfor. Gwenfor reached over to feel the teeth marks on her shoulder. Lysander bit deep in her shoulder, for blood wouldn't stop flowing down her back. Anger and pain was written all over Gwenfor, tears were silently streaming down her face. 

 "How could you!" Gwenfor managed to stand up. "You fucking idiot!" Gwenfor sobbed. 

 "Gwen, I'm sorry!" 

 "Stop calling me that!" Gwenfor kicked dirt into his eyes. "You just let a monster survive!" 

 "You were going to kill him." Lysander said, Gwenfor wiped her tears. 

 "Because Lysander, he was going to kill us! It was either us or him! Now he's probably going to get his fucking friends to come out here and kill us!" Lysander was quiet and deathly pale.

 Gwenfor put her back to the tree and began sobbing. Her tears were color of pearls in the moonlight. As she cried she heard a voice, "He's right you know." Gwenfor wiped the tears and stood back up trying to look confident. Who said that? 

 Suddenly as if answering her question, the Midsummer Queen appeared from behind the trees. Her hair was the color of pure gold, her eyes the color of the joy in the world, and her skin the color of olive oil and flawless. She was pure beauty.

 "The Midsummer Queen," Gwenfor gasped causing The Midsummer Queen to smile. 

 "What's a midsummer queen?" Lysander asked Gwenfor turned around slapping him hard on the face

."You are such a dumb ass!" Gwenfor winced her shoulder was really hurting now. 

 "I am the Midsummer Queen." The Midsummer Queen walked around them, appearing behind tree from tree. And although it may sound crazy, when the moonlight hit the Midsummer Queen's face her true beauty seemed to appear. "And I'm here to talk about both of you." Gwenfor nodded having full attention on her. "So please, Gwenfor, don't yell at me when I say what I came here to say."